Thursday, July 11, 2013

My Birthday Cakes and No-Bake Cake Pops

I had a birthday a couple weeks ago. What is it about birthdays after 30, that just aren't so exciting? Maybe when I turn 40, I'll get a party, though I might be mourning my 30's by then. Who knows?! Anyway, my 31st birthday was spent mostly hanging out with Hayden and working on my cookbook. See that strawberry topped cake? That was the birthday cake I made myself. It was also the cake that will adorn the cover of my cookbook. I'm pretty thrilled about that! Then family came over and brought me more cake...and I went into a sugar coma!

My sister made me pink lemonade cupcakes in adorable penguin cupcake liners. I have a deep love for penguins, so I absolutely loved the look of these, they were delicious too. And my mom made me a Funfetti cake with rainbow chip icing. You can't eat Funfetti cake and not feel like a kid. I loved that they baked for me- it made me feel special. What's funny is that Hayden thinks that when you sing 'happy birthday' that it's for him. He gets a big grin on his face and starts clapping. I'm more than willing to give that to him :-)

I made these no-bake cake truffles a couple months ago when I had leftover Funfetti cake mix from making these rice crispy treats. Mix, roll, and dip. No baking necessary. Since they were so simple to make Hayden and I decided to decorate popsicle sticks to jazz them up.

Can you guess which stick Hayden decorated?

I had a minor issue with these though. After I dipped them in the coating and they set up overnight, the truffle expanded and the candy coating cracked on some of them. I made a couple batches to test them out, some I refrigerated, some I did not and the results were the same. I think that maybe I rolled the balls too tight, but I'm not sure. I read through the comments on the blog I got the recipe from and others had the same issue. I googled my problem and found that this is a common issue when making cake pops. Anyway, they were fun and simple and tasty. Don't let a little cracked coating deter you from making them. Kids will have fun with these too and will eat them up so fast you'll forget about all the imperfections.

And...please, please, as a penguin fanatic whose bedroom is decorated in penguins, who has made penguin decorated sugar cookies, who has made marzipan penguins, who loves penguins beyond any other animal, tell me where I can find those penguin cupcake liners? Please? I'm begging you.

I am guessing the dry mixture (flour, etc) expands as it absorbs the moisture- causing the cracks. But who cares its gonna get cracked in your mouth anyway. It all looks delicious. Everything on your blog always looks so darn good.

I envy you. You got three cakes on your birthday! I guess the most delicious cake you’d ever tasted is the one that’s given to you. Haha! Anyway, your velvet cake is my favorite. And I must tell you that their crumbs is what I use when I make popsies.

i made these with pink lemonade cake mix and when I tasted the "cake" part they were so bitter. I thought they were going to be awful but once I put the candy coating on them, it was delicious.I think Funfetti would be even better, I just didn't have any on hand

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Welcome To My Blog

My name is Monica and I'm a stay at home mom living in central Texas. I like to cook, but baking is my passion. I am an (obsessive) collector of cake stands, cookbooks and bakeware. I make lots of yummy treats and often share my sweet creations with friends, family and anyone else who is willing to be my guinea pig. I have lots of recipes in the archives so I hope you'll stick around for awhile!

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